Strassel: Harry Reid's Senate Shutdown

The Senate didn't pass a single appropriations or jobs bill in 2013.

By

Kimberley A. Strassel

Jan. 9, 2014 7:25 p.m. ET

The popular judgment that Washington's dysfunction is the result of "partisanship" misses a crucial point. Washington is currently gridlocked because of the particular partisanship of one man: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. And Republicans are warming to the power of making that case to voters.

It's often said the 113th Congress is on track to become the "least productive" in history—but that tagline obscures crucial details. The Republican House in fact passed more than 200 bills in 2013. Some...